Museum Turned Adventure Park

In 2015, Recovery Energy launched a totally unique activity in the market of verticality. In partnership with the Château Odescalchi in Bracciano, Italy, they began offering visits to the chateau with an adventurous twist. With a vision to merge recreation, culture, and rope activities at one of the most majestic residences in Italy, Emozione Verticale is now one of the most exclusive experiences in Europe.

Tell us about "Vertical Emotion".

Recovery Energy is a company that was established in 2009 with a mission to be "nonconventional". The founder, Roberto Locatelli, is a canyoning guide certified in France and one of the top promoters of the sport in Italy. Born from Roberto's passion for sport and nature, Recovery Energy offers experiences in unusual contexts that allow people to discover and experience unique emotions.

"Roberto's passion and training", explains current CEO, Roberta Gesualdo, "has put momentum behind the development of vertical experiences, as well as the continuous effort to innovate and develop in the field of experiential tourism. Today, we offer canyoning, hiking, and survival activities, but always with a singular vision and a nonconventional approach.

The idea to have adventurous visits at the chateau was actually born from a serendipitous meeting between the princess, Maria Pace Odescalchi, who is a contact for the homonymous foundation that manages the Bracciano château museum, and Roberto. The princess's vision to provide a new way to visit the historical building, combined with Roberto's specific skills made it possible.

"Canyoning is a discipline that's done mainly in water", Roberto tells us, "but in central Italy, there's never been an abundance of rivers to do this. The region of Latium, however, is rich in history, with monuments and old residences. Consequently, the idea to use vertical progression techniques to descend the towers instead of waterfalls, became a reality."

What are some of the initial difficulties that you had to overcome and what are the challenges related to establishing safety protocols?

"In a very short amount of time", Roberta adds, "we studied a series of proposals for combining a museum visit with a range of experiences with different durations and levels, to be able to explore in a totally new dimension: vertical."

How do you set up an activity inspired by recreation inside a Renaissance-era residence? What steps are taken for participant safety? 

"The first critical component that we encountered during the activities", continues Roberto, "were of technical nature. To solve the problem, we used an innovative approach. For equipment, we turned to Petzl, who has always been considered top-of-the-line, and whose equipment we already used for canyoning. With Petzl, we found a company that is committed to technical excellence in sport and professional domains, and shares knowledge with a focus on continuous improvement and innovation.

From a methodological standpoint, we integrated typical elements of canyoning with requirements related to workplace safety; we effectively established a leisure activity that adheres to the controls and processes that are standard in the world of workplace safety."

What equipment do you use so that participants can safely enjoy the experience?

Using equipment from Petzl's professional line has worked really well to meet these needs because they can be adapted to different uses, maximizing safety throughout the entire experience. "However, these days, we've had the opportunity to try the new SWAN EASYFIT and SWAN FREEFALL harnesses, two models designed for adventure parks, but that function perfectly for our tower descents. The SWAN EASYFIT is particularly quick to put on and reduces waiting time, while the SWAN FREEFALL offers a more exciting descent when the dorsal attachment point is used, making it a particularly versatile tool. In fact, it will be the new official harness of the chateau!"

What are the highlights of your business and your work?

The nature of the activity can suggest an elevated level of technicality. For us, the most important element, the one we are the most passionate about, is our relationship with the people who count on us to make sure they have an unforgettable experience. We are just facilitators, guiding people as they discover their emotions, sharing a unique experience every time. The most gratifying part of our job is seeing the face of a kid who has just gotten back down to the ground with an expression of joy and excitement that seems to say, "I did it. Me, I really did it"; immediately followed by the recurring request, "Can we go again?"
 

Would you consider your work to be a "dream job"?

I would say yes. Just taking one look at the view of the lake is enough for someone to understand that our office is… well, different.

Can you share a fun anecdote with us from the chateau?

Here at the chateau, there are so many stories, especially because of the emotion that is unleashed when you're hanging from a rope. One of the funniest moments was the descent of a series of characters during a Cosplay event (an event in which people dress up as real or imaginary characters), where we had characters from Spider Man and Assassin's Creed. Or the time when the "speedcubers" came and solved Rubik's cubes while descending. We've had marriage proposals at the foot of the tower, people dressed as the witch from the italian story of Epiphany, and John, an american who was so impressed by the experience and the beauty of the place, that he decided to move to Italy. Today, he collaborates with us and is engaged to an Italian! 
 

Recovery Energy (www.recovery-energy.it) is a company that creates and implements nonconventional activities for individuals and businesses and works in partnership with People Group (experiential training for companies) and Wafe (experiential training and gamification in workplace safety).